An opportunity for children to explore the wonders of nature comes to Winton Woods Harbor courtesy of Green Umbrella and Great Parks of Hamilton County.

The Kids Outdoor Adventure Expo - 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, July 14 - is a free interactive outdoor and environmental education event entering its 12th year in the area.

About 5,000 children are expected to take part in more than 60 activities and exhibits including rafting, fishing, and rock-climbing. All children and families are welcome to attend. Free bus transportation will be available to about 2,500 children participating in camps and summertime programs from all over the Greater Cincinnati region.

Morgan’s Outdoor Adventures helps to make the day special by donating rafts and paddles so that every kid who attends the event has the chance to paddle – many for their first time ever.

The Kids Outdoor Adventure Expo is open to the public - rain or shine (no rain date). Winton Woods Harbor is located across the street from 10245 Winton Road. For information visit, www.meetmeoutdoors.org/kids-expo.

The Stomp Out Hunger 5K Run/Walk benefiting Inter Parish Ministry's returns for the eighth year Saturday, July 29.(Photo: Provided)

Race against hunger

The summer months can be challenging for low-income families.

The loss of access to free or reduced-priced meals for children places additional pressure on an already strained family food budget.

“Many parents face the additional challenge of paying for childcare while they are at work, as well as the added cost of meals at home. They turn to food pantries like ours to overcome this challenge,” Inter Parish Ministry’s Executive Director Lindsey Ein said.

To help meet this challenge and fill the IPM pantry shelves, Armstrong Chapel’s Vertical Impact Youth group introduced the Stomp Out Hunger 5K Run/Walk. Registration is already underway for this annual event scheduled for Saturday, July 29.

Last year, more than 250 runners and walkers participated.

There will be food, prizes and awards after the run/walk. Awards for the event will be presented in categories such as overall male and female runner and walker. Specific age groups and the top dog will also receive awards. New to this year’s event is a youth team race for teams of four to six members. Youth racers aged 18 years and younger can sign up to compete.

Registration at Armstrong Chapel, 5125 Drake Road opens at 7:30 a.m. with the run/walk starting promptly at 8:30 a.m. Preregistration cost is $30 with an athletic T-shirt and $15 for race only. Day of race cost is $35 with an athletic T-shirt and $20 for race only. Preregistration can be made online at www.registrationpspot.com.

Walnut Hills project a finalist

A proposal Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation submitted to ArtPlace America is one of 70 finalists for the 2017 National Creative Placemaking Fund.

If selected, the proposed project, CoMotion, will use creative placemaking to lessen the hardship residents experience by living in a food desert. Determined to use this difficult situation as an opportunity the WHRF aims to build a welcoming, inclusive place within the $20 million Paramount Square project where people can get healthy, locally-grown produce, grab a nutritious drink with friends, hold community meetings, as well as participate in meaningful creative and social activities.

There were nearly 1,000 submissions for the National Creative Placemaking Fund. The 70 finalist projects come from 32 different states and two U.S. Territories. ArtPlace Director of National Grantmaking, F. Javier Torres, will spend the next 12 weeks visiting each project to get more familiar.

“These 70 finalists are extraordinary examples of the ways that artists, arts organizations, and communities are thinking about working together,” he said in a release. “We look forward to learning more about all of them, as we visit with them this summer.”

To date, ArtPlace’s National Creative Placemaking Fund has invested $77 million in 256 creative placemaking projects across 187 communities.

See news happening around Hamilton County? Contact Sheila Vilvens at svilvens@enquirer.com or on Twitter.